Admission is free!(except for Workshops & Masterclass) Seats are limited, on a first-come-first-served basis at the door.

Drama Box is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a festival on Forum Theatre, one of the most important forms used by Drama Box.SCENES: FORUM THEATRE is a consolidation of Drama Box’s work and beliefs from the beginning. This is a major milestone for us, and is especially significant is that SCENES should be the official launch programme for GoLi – The Moving Theatre, the FIRST inflatable theatre in Singapore. GoLi is symbolic of a ground-up approach to our work in the community and our commitment to bringing people together through socially engaged art.

Programme Line-Up

A. PERFORMANCES by Professional Groups

As Forum Theatre multiplies and takes flight in Singapore, for the first time, professional arts groups from different parts of the world stage their Forum Theatre performances alongside Drama Box, for the audience in Singapore. What are the aesthetic possibilities of Forum Theatre? What do the works reveal about the concerns of their places of origin, and how do they impact their social environment? *Ratings for all performances to be advised

A MRT train travelling towards the north stops suddenly and five passengers of different races are trapped inside. One of them receives an SMS stating that there are rumours about a bomb. Everyone panicks and gets suspicious. Trick or Threat! was created in 2007, after the September 11 attacks. It was created from a deep-seated concern about the ability of Singaporeans in dealing with racial tensions when faced with the threat of terrorism. It was denied an outdoor performance license just days before its slated performance, and had to be staged inside a tent. Nonetheless, it has since become Drama Box’s longest-running show, and was even commissioned by People’s Association as part of their community engagement programme for grassroots leaders and community partners.

Real Voices Real Lives is an interactive theatre workshop that explores disability harassment, including “mate crime”, “hate crime” and violence, in a supported environment. It offers a unique opportunity to participate in training delivered by professional learning-disabled actors who also have direct experience of the issues explored. Professional learning-disabled actors present RVRL through a series of short performances, providing learning through participation, discussion, interactive role-playing and sharing of experiences. The aim is to present the issues and help participants think about what they can do to make a difference – in their own lives and in others.

Xingzhen is a middle-aged woman who has returned to the workforce. She is a dispatched labour worker who wishes to become a regular employed staff. This however attracts hostility from her colleagues who are regular employees, worried she would take their place. This puts her under immense pressure but she soon finds out that fellow dispatched labour Uncle Kun, is in a worse situation, and the schooling of his two children might be affected. Xingzhen tries to help Uncle Kun by approaching the management, but gets nowhere with her two bosses. This endangers her chance to become a regular staff. Just then, an accident occurs, exposing the hypocrisy of her employers and the oppression of the system of dispatched labour. When an employee has two employers, will he enjoy more benefits and security? Or will he face even more unequal treatment? In the face of global competition, enterprises seek to drive down costs and increase profits, thus introducing to the workplace contract employment, unpaid leave, employee accountability, dispatched labour, etc. The implementation of these has greatly impacted employment rights. Dispatched labours not only draw low salaries, but also enjoy poor benefits and zero job security. They often face discrimination and are treated like second-class citizens in the workplace. In Taiwan, besides in private enterprises, dispatched labour workers make up the majority of even public institutions like television stations, the education ministry and labour ministry. According to statistics, Taiwanese has up to half a million of dispatched labours in 2013. Thus One Employee, Two Bosses was created to raise the awareness and critique of the public on the system of dispatched labour.

The play tells the story of a girl being forced to marry at an early age. Her father would rather sell his cultivable land for her dowry, than to let her attend school. The father makes all the decisions and imposes them on his wife and daughter. What is life like for women before, during and after marriage? How are men’s attitudes towards women shaped in a patriarchal society? This play evolved from Jana Sanskriti’s workshop with a group of women from some of the villages in West Bengal. It was first staged in 1991 and has since been performed over 2,500 times across India and the rest of the world, by all the teams of Jana Sanskriti over the last 24 years. The forum discussions of the play have been enlightening irrespective of geography.

Date:

5 Jul 2015

Time:

7pm – 8.30pm

Language:

Bengali (with English & Chinese surtitle)

B. The Young Can Change the World

The Young Can Change the World was created to encourage critical thinking and constructive dialogue among the youths about social issues through the use of Forum Theatre, and thereafter, be inspired to take positive social action and become the change they want to see in the community. Date & time of Performances 4 Jul 2015: 11am & 12pm 5 Jul 2015: 11am Performance Language: In English or Mandarin (with English or Chinese surtitles) Date & time of Exhibition 4 & 5 Jul 2015: 10.30am – 10pm

C. Community Theatre Training Programme

Community Theatre Training Programme was meant to equip participants, regardless of whether they came from a theatre background, with the the knowledge, skills and ethical awareness important to this form. The showcase of their Forum Theatre pieces serves as a platform to raise awareness on the issues faced by different marginalised communities in Singapore. Date & time of Performances 4 & 5 Jul 2015: 3pm – 4pm Performance Language: In English or Mandarin (with English or Chinese surtitles) Date & time of Exhibition 4 & 5 Jul 2015: 10.30am – 10pm

D. WORKSHOPS & MASTERCLASS

Introduction to Forum Theatre (Beginner) by Koh Hui Ling This workshop is for anyone interested to find out more about Forum Theatre, especially Drama Box’s brand of Forum Theatre, developed through 15 years of community theatre work. It combines Brazilian theatre legend Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed and David Diamond’s Theatre for Living. This short immersion course introduces participants to Drama Box’s pedagogy, the art of creating Forum Theatre, as well as the theories behind Forum Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed.

Date:

9 Jul 2015

Time:

2pm – 6pm or 6.30pm – 10.30pm

Fee:

S$60 per pax

Aesthetics of the Oppressed: SOUND / RHYTHM producing Forum Theatre (Intermediate) by Bárbara Santos Back by popular demand! Bárbara Santos, the protégé of Augusto Boal, is back again, after a much raved about workshop in 2011. The Aesthetics of the Oppressed is based on three elements: image, word and sound. This workshop aims to develop sound and rhythm in Theatre of the Oppressed scenes and plays. The sound of the voice and the body, the sound of objects and their possible combinations, the rhythm of the created sounds, the rhythm of the characters, the rhythm of the play, the rhythm of the forum and rhythm as dialogue. This experience promotes a collective investigation about the possibilities of rhythmical expression of daily-life oppressions. How to associate rhythm, image and movement in a sonorous composition that allows communicating a story? How could this composition allow forum? This workshop is the result of collaboration between Bárbara Santos and Till Baumann from KURINGA (Berlin), who began the experience as a theatrical laboratory in Berlin and developed it in a sequence of several workshops in Croatia, Guatemala, Colombia, Germany and Brazil. The initiative is part of the KURINGA Theatre of the Oppressed Qualification Programme.

Prospective Technique of excavating the ground, the stories and issues

Introspective Technique of penetrating the surface of the issues and stories, unpacking different layers of complexities

Extraversion Technique of revisiting the original story but now putting into action the insights and strategies learned from the earlier processes

The workshop also looks at how Rainbow of Desire can help Jokers in preparing and conducting their Forum Theatre performances.

Date:

8 – 10 Jul 2015

Time:

9am – 6pm

Fee:

S$380 per pax

Pre-requisite: Participants must have attended and completed Breaking the Silenceworkshop Level 1 & 2, and also jokered/directed/acted in a Forum Theatre production WORKSHOP Language All workshops are conducted in English WORKSHOP PromotionsEarly Bird discount (register before 4th June) – 20% discount Student discount (register before 4th June) – 40% discount Please produce a copy of your student ID upon registration to enjoy the discount.SDEA Theatre Arts Conference 2015 participant – 15% discount Please produce a copy of the official receipt upon registration to enjoy the discount.SDEA members – 10% discount Please produce a copy of your membership card upon registration to enjoy the discount.Registration for Workshops & Masterclass If you’re interested to participate in the above workshops, please email your name, contact information and relevant experience (for Breaking the Silence – Level 3) to josephine@dramabox.org. Registration deadline 25 June 2015 *PROMOTION for SDEA Theatre Arts Conference 2015 SCENES: FORUM THEATRE workshops & masterclass participants who are Non-SDEA members can now enjoy a 10% discount off a full 3-day Conference pass. Simply redeem the discount upon checkout by entering the promo code provided when you sign up for any “SCENES: FORUM THEATRE” workshop. Click here for information SDEA Theatre Arts Conference 2015

E. SHARING & DIALOGUE

Theatre of the Oppressed and its Social Impact Join a panel of local and international practitioners in a discussion about the future of Theatre of the Oppressed and its role in effecting socio-political change. What are the roles of artists? How to create sustainable movements in engagement with the communities? Panelists:Bárbara Santos (Berlin/Germany) Sanjoy Ganguly (India) Lai Shuya (Taiwan) Joyce Lee (United Kingdom) Kok Heng Leun (Singapore) Moderated by Koh Hui Ling (Singapore) Date: 4 July 2015 Time: 1pm – 2.30pm Inaction // In Action? Young People & Their Role in Social Engagement This is a space for young people living in Singapore to gather and share about their experiences, ideals and aspirations on social engagement. What roles can the youths play in engaging communities and society? Date: 5 July 2015 Time: 12pm – 1pm Sharing & Dialogue Language: All Sharing & Dialogue sessions are conducted in English

F. playGROUND

Besides using the arts, in what other ways can we respond to the issues we see around us? In this space, we invite non-arts groups with a unique vision in filling the gaps they see in society and that have been working on their social causes, to table their ideas. Find a moment to relax in playGROUND, visit the groups and if you see a cause that you agree with, support them!